Thixoforming is an innovative method of processing of

metal alloys in the semi-solid state. Such shaping method has

many advantages in comparison with classical metal forming
and foundry processes. Thixoforming technologies are based
on modified devices normally used for forging or casting
processes. Nowadays, research is conducted with the practical
application of this method in aluminium, magnesium and steel
processing as its goal
Numerical modelling of thixoforming processes requires
knowledge of viscosity of cast metal alloys. It helps to determine
the velocity field of the semi-solid metal inside the die. Precise
determination of this field allows to predict the temperature
distribution and avoid possible defects. The main goal of this
paper is an analysis of the semi-liquid A380.0 (AlSi9Cu3(Fe))
alloy viscosity. The basic difficulty was very high temperature
of semi-liquid alloy and it required the application of special
equipment.
Moreover the research conducted allowed the rheological
properties, which are necessary for the identification of the
main technological parameter values of the metalforming
processes, to be determined [4]. The phase transformation,
connected with the solidification, results in the high sensitivity
of material properties to changes of the technological
parameters.
This paper presents the results of a rheological analysis
of A380.0 aluminium alloy. The chemical composition of this
alloy is shown in Table 1. Chemical analysis was carried out
using handheld XRF analyser
The first stage of investigation was devoted to
identification of content of the solid phase in the material as
a function of temperature. For this purpose the thermodynamic
calculations was applied using special module of ProCAST
software. The calculations required a knowledge of the
chemical composition. The content of the solid phase as
a function of temperature is shown in Fig. 1. The solid fraction
calculation was achieved through level rule method. In order
Compared with casting magnesium alloys, wrought magnesium alloys have higher
mechanical strength, better ductility and more varied mechanical properties. But
the
magnesium element is so lively that it is liable to be oxidated or burned during
smelting and
working. Simultaneously, the lower strength under high temperature and creep pro
perties
restrict the application of magnesium alloys in high temperature occasion. In ad
dition,
influenced by the microstructure, magnesium alloys have low deforming property a
nd poor
plasticity. Start from pursuing to the net forming technology and lighter produc
tion, the
semi-solid thixo-forming technology becomes a preferred hot forming technique fo
r
wrought magnesium alloys (Flemings, 1991; Yan & Xia, 2005).
At high solid volume fraction (=50%~60%), the behaviour of semi-solid material
mechanics in the thixotropic plastic deformation process can be solved only when
the
relationship between stress and strain is obtained. Recently there have been a l
ot of
studies on this field. A stress-strain relationship was investigated through con

sidering the
separate coefficient for semi-solid materials (Kang et al., 1998). The mathemati
cal models
of yield criterion and constitutive equations of mushy/semi-solid alloys were pr
oposed
(Kiuchi et al., 1998). The viscoplastic constitutive equations of SSM were prese
nted by
analyzing viscoplastic behaviour of material (Martin et al., 1997). On the basis
of analysis
of the thixotropic plastic deformation behaviour of semi-solid wrought magnesium
alloy
in compression process (Yan & Zhou, 2006), its constitutive model was establishe
d (Yan &
Zhou, 2006).
Semi-solid processing technology is a new metal working technology in recent yea
rs, in
which the alloys in semi-solid state have the excellent thixotropic and rheologi
cal properties.
The deformation resistance in semi-solid state is influenced by not only solid v
olume
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fraction and shear rate but also time, it s difficult to simulate semi-solid metal
processing.
Many researchers had carried out many investigations to simulations of semi-soli
d metal
processing. The filling behaviours of semi-solid materials were described by com
puter
simulation (Tims et al., 1996). Three-dimensional filling analyses with consider
ing flow
phenomena and solidification as a function of viscosity were performed (Lipinski
&
Flender, 1998). The numerical simulations on thixotropic as well as rheological
forming
focused mainly on the treatment of slurry or description of flow filling process
. The few
numerical simulations on the thixotropic forge in high solid volume fraction wer
e
reported.
The three main procedures in semi-solid metal processing are blank-making (Yan e
t al.,
2005), reheating (Yan et al., 2006) and thixoforming (Yan et al., 2008). Thixo-f
orming is the
last procedure, which benefits the quality of workpiece. Therefore the technolog
ical
parameters in wrought magnesium alloy thixoforming process are well understood,
analyzed, controlled and optimized using numerical simulation and experimental
methods.